Southend United close to completing loan signing of John-Joe O'Toole from Northampton

[RobB11]

He played in league 2 for Torquay last season and by all accounts impressed... Most were excited by his acquisition but he hasn't delivered.

 

[Another Surrey Shrimper]

There is the following option - which actually seems quite attacking to me ...


Corr
Payne O'Toole
Timlin Leonard Worrell

Just a thought

no defence or keeper - you are a mad man!

 

[Big Bad Barry Corr]

That would be lovely, but unlikely. It would be extremely popular with Southend fans because of the way he played for us before. But surely, he wouldn't drop down into the 2nd Division, he's much too good.

Sorry, some of us remember the **** attitude that Clarke showed towards our club before when after scoring a few goals during his loan spell he tried to screw an extra £50,000 out of us for a signing on fee after a fee had been agreed with Sheffield Wednesday. He was lazy, overweight and disinterested in his final few games here last time and the fact that he shuffles from club to club before each one ships him out of the door pdq says it all for me. His list of former clubs is in at least double figures and personally there is no way I would ever want that fat waste of space lumbering around in a Southend shirt again thank you very much.

 

[OldBlueLady]

One of those instances where the club clearly has NOT read the SZ views on the person in question!

 

[Tommy's Mooney]

Why oh why are we filling our squad with more midfiekders when we require some goal sciring forwards? We have a limited budget so this loan signing means one less forward. This possible signing and the fsct we currently have 4 right suded centre backs baffles me. However the most baffling thing remains the season long loan signing of Shaq. Did anyone actually watch him play agajnst 'grown-ups' before committing to him?

The way I see it if we are playing 4-5-1 then we need a lot more midfielders than strikers. It would look mad if we had 10 midfielders and 2 strikers in our squad...but actually there'd be an element of logic to it. I*guess I'm still used to Championship Manager or Fantasy Football where you'd only have around twice as many midfielders than strikers (driven from a 4-4-2) but times be a-changin'!

 

[shrimpled]

One of those instances where the club clearly has NOT read the SZ views on the person in question!

That really doesn't worry me. Very few of thoughts and opinions offered on this site are based on first or even second hand knowledge, especially with regards to individual players who have not yet played for our club.

 

[Pubey]

One of those instances where the club clearly has NOT read the SZ views on the person in question!

So what? I think you're overstating the importance of the SZ view when it comes to football and football transfers - we're not experts, Brown and co are.

All our information on here is garnered from the press and from looking at his footballing history. These are things that the club will be well aware of.

He's a talented player who's lost his way a bit. Phil Brown will be considering if it's worth the time and effort of him and the team to try and integrate him and get the best from him.

I don't get why everyone is quick to write him off, just because he's not fitted in at Northampton. He seems like a bit of a tool, but then some of our squad are and some of our best players were!

 

[rlb999]

Leonard, Clifford, Deegan, Atkinson, Hurst, Worrall, Weston, Payne, Timlin

So we need a midfielder?

 

[mrsblue]

Leonard, Clifford, Deegan, Atkinson, Hurst, Worrall, Weston, Payne, Timlin

So we need a midfielder?

According to Phil yes we do:sad:


Frankly I just don't understand why we want to sign an unfit bloke with baggage who won't be cheap!

Why not try for the Chester or Harlow forward instead ?Or indeed any forward!

 

[turkishm]

Not sure what to think really, just see it as a risk of upsetting the dressing room, with a player that seems to have an attitude problem. Or maybe he has not. If he joins the club, I suppose we have to give the guy a chance, but for me this seems Bibel Mohsni mark 2.

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

So what? I think you're overstating the importance of the SZ view when it comes to football and football transfers - we're not experts, Brown and co are.

All our information on here is garnered from the press and from looking at his footballing history. These are things that the club will be well aware of.

He's a talented player who's lost his way a bit. Phil Brown will be considering if it's worth the time and effort of him and the team to try and integrate him and get the best from him.

I don't get why everyone is quick to write him off, just because he's not fitted in at Northampton. He seems like a bit of a tool, but then some of our squad are and some of our best players were!

That's stretching it just a little bit.

 

[Pubey]

That's stretching it just a little bit.

Irrespective of what you think about Brown, he's signed maybe 100 players in his career, which is 100 more than all of us.

The idea that Brown should swing from signing him to not signing him on the basis of SZ is crazy.

Personally I quite like the idea of JJOT signing, because he's a talent, but if we're to sign anyone then a striker would maybe be my priority.

 

[Beefy]

18 league games in and as you all know any forward is measured to a degree on their scoring ratio.We have an unbelievable ratio of our ENTIRE strike force of just 4 goals with only 3 from open play.The forwards on average hit the net every 405 minutes YET Phil wants another midfielder.

Crazy times.

The strikers when playing Phil's preferred 4-5-1/4-3-3 are in the team to sacrifice their own goalscoring for the sake of the team. Surely that is apparent to anyone who has watched us at all in the last year? The striker creates space for his teammates to get a chance at goal.

Personally I'd play 4-4-2 and give the strikers a chance to do what they do best but I'm not the manager. We're not scoring consistently as a team especially in that formation and the signing of a creative goalscoring midfielder is a fairly logical move considering that that is what we're lacking. If that is what JJOT is.

Whoever is playing up front for us won't score goals the way we're set up which is why whoever we play up front hasn't scored goals.

 

[Beefy]

One of those instances where the club clearly has NOT read the SZ views on the person in question!

I'd be horrified if a manager or coach at our club was making decisions based on what people on Shrimperzone thought!

 

[kentblues]

Leonard, Clifford, Deegan, Atkinson, Hurst, Worrall, Weston, Payne, Timlin

So we need a midfielder?

We play 433- so we need 5 in each game- you have named 9- with a couple injured and a couple on the bench it would be exactly the correct number- with an injury crisis maybe not enough.

Similarly if we play this system no point having more than 4 centre forwards.

 

[londonblue]

Sorry, some of us remember the **** attitude that Clarke showed towards our club before when after scoring a few goals during his loan spell he tried to screw an extra £50,000 out of us for a signing on fee after a fee had been agreed with Sheffield Wednesday. He was lazy, overweight and disinterested in his final few games here last time and the fact that he shuffles from club to club before each one ships him out of the door pdq says it all for me. His list of former clubs is in at least double figures and personally there is no way I would ever want that fat waste of space lumbering around in a Southend shirt again thank you very much.

Actually he's only had 7 permanent clubs. However, when you add his loans he's had 14! Some of the clubs he's been loaned to he's signed for permanently, so if you add the duplicates he's had 17 clubs!

And he's only 29. Not one to stick around is he?

 

[londonblue]

The strikers when playing Phil's preferred 4-5-1/4-3-3 are in the team to sacrifice their own goalscoring for the sake of the team. Surely that is apparent to anyone who has watched us at all in the last year? The striker creates space for his teammates to get a chance at goal.

Personally I'd play 4-4-2 and give the strikers a chance to do what they do best but I'm not the manager. We're not scoring consistently as a team especially in that formation and the signing of a creative goalscoring midfielder is a fairly logical move considering that that is what we're lacking. If that is what JJOT is.

Whoever is playing up front for us won't score goals the way we're set up which is why whoever we play up front hasn't scored goals.

Indeed. It's almost like a rugby set up where the forwards do all the grunt work and bulldoze their way forward to allow the backs to score the tries.

 

[mrsblue]

The strikers when playing Phil's preferred 4-5-1/4-3-3 are in the team to sacrifice their own goalscoring for the sake of the team. Surely that is apparent to anyone who has watched us at all in the last year? The striker creates space for his teammates to get a chance at goal.

Personally I'd play 4-4-2 and give the strikers a chance to do what they do best but I'm not the manager. We're not scoring consistently as a team especially in that formation and the signing of a creative goalscoring midfielder is a fairly logical move considering that that is what we're lacking. If that is what JJOT is.

Whoever is playing up front for us won't score goals the way we're set up which is why whoever we play up front hasn't scored goals.

I agree with your every word apart from the potential JJ signing.

Whilst many on here have gone all misty eyed regarding our 3 wins on the spin against relegation fodder I still believe the next 7 games are make or break for Phil and his brand of football,He has too look at securing minimum of 12 points from those fixtures anything less then surely Ron will wield the dreaded axe.

 

[slapheadsteve]

The strikers when playing Phil's preferred 4-5-1/4-3-3 are in the team to sacrifice their own goalscoring for the sake of the team. Surely that is apparent to anyone who has watched us at all in the last year? The striker creates space for his teammates to get a chance at goal.

Personally I'd play 4-4-2 and give the strikers a chance to do what they do best but I'm not the manager. We're not scoring consistently as a team especially in that formation and the signing of a creative goalscoring midfielder is a fairly logical move considering that that is what we're lacking. If that is what JJOT is.

Whoever is playing up front for us won't score goals the way we're set up which is why whoever we play up front hasn't scored goals.

Beefy
You speak a lot of sense. Corr sacrifices himself for the team. We do get results with 4.5.1 and we are a better team with Hurst and Worrall playing wide.
Whilst Tango is Manager its the way we will play. JJOT is that type of player. He does sound like a loose cannon, but he fits into the tango type of game. The big question is what type of attitude will he bring to Southend.

 

[yogi bear up the cagire]

Posted these, one yesterday and one this morning, on the wrong thread!

"One thing is clear; when he really wants someone Phil Brown doesn't give up easily. The other thing of course, is that he doesn't give a sod for the views of the supporters (at least those on SZ) who said a whopping 81% 'no thank you' to the signing of O'Toole. Phil Brown has finally got his man, he is the boss (for the moment) and we have to assume he knows what he's doing.
If we don't sign another striker (or Barnard doesn't come back a revelation from Stevenage) and O'Toole doesn't prove more prolific than he was at Northampton..............we all know what to expect in a few weeks time (probably Monday, if we don't win against Northampton, knowing SZ!)"



Curiouser and curiouser (or is it just me?) This story broke, through CP, at around 11am yesterday. The detail, such as him being in the squad for Saturday, means that it was from official sources and one assumes it was all but done and dusted. That left the afternoon to produce a grinning O'Toole wearing his new colours...............but nothing, just silence. Is there a problem Houston???